Closure
by Mindy35
Summary: Jack/Liz, Jack/Avery. Post-ep for "Mrs Donaghy". Jack seeks closure on his marriage to Liz.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Closure

Author: Mindy35

Rating: T, some adult themes

Disclaimer: Characters are property of NBC and a whole bunch of idiots.

Spoilers: "Black Tie", "Mrs Donaghy".

Pairing(s): Jack/Liz, Jack/Avery

Summary: Post-ep. Jack seeks closure on his marriage to Liz.

A/N: Does not take into account anything after "Mrs Donaghy".

I.

"Divorce papers." Jack held up a small wad of papers. "Thought we should get this over with."

Liz nodded, opening the door wider for him to enter. "Come on in." She led the way into her apartment, gestured at a platter of cheese on the coffee table. "Want some cheese?"

Jack glanced at the half-consumed platter. "No, thank you, I ate earlier."

"So did I, never stops me." She faced him, dusting her hands off, ridding them of any cheese residue. "Okay, so…we should probably just do this, huh?"

Jack held the papers back from her outstretched hand. "Ah. There is one extra stipulation, which we did not discuss with the attorney."

"Is this about your-" she waved her hand vaguely at his below-the-waist area, "seed? Because I told you you didn't have to do that if you didn't feel comfortable. We can totally take that off the table."

"No, Lemon," he shook his head. "You could have taken me for all I'm worth if you'd so chosen."

"I could?"

"If a little assistance in the reproductive area is all you want out of this-"

"It is."

"-then I am quite content to contribute in such a way. Particularly if it will make you happy."

"It will. So…" She took the papers from him, began to leaf through them. "What's this extra stipulation then?"

"You won't find it in the papers," Jack told her, eyes on her face. He cleared his throat, then said, "I would like to kiss the future ex-Mrs Donaghy. Once, before our marriage is terminated."

Liz looked up, her expression a mixture of baffled, amused and disconcerted. "What? Why?

Jack shuffled on his feet, hands spread at his sides. "To be honest, Lemon, I'm not sure. Perhaps just to…mark the occasion."

"Mark the occasion of our wedding or the occasion of our divorce?" she asked, eyeing him sideways.

"Both, I suppose. After all, marriage does imply certain acts, certain…intimacies."

"Uh huh. I'm aware of that. Isn't it half the reason we're divorcing? Because we don't-" she turned away, dropping the papers on the coffee table with the cheese and general mess. "Well…that and you meant to marry your pregnant girlfriend, who incidentally would probably not love this new stipulation."

"This is between you and me," he murmured. "And it's just a kiss."

Liz grabbed a piece of cheese while she was at it. "Is there really such a thing as _just a kiss_?"

"Please don't try to tell me that our friendship couldn't survive such a simple act because I think we both know it's survived far worse."

"Our marriage, for instance?"

"Exactly. And call me old-fashioned-"

"That's not what I'd call this actually."

"But I would like to, in some small way, legitimize this union-"

"Opportunistic, I might call it."

"-however accidental or odd, it may have been-"

"Odd, another word that'd apply here."

"-before we dissolve it entirely." Jack paused, then concluded with: "I think we owe it to the institution."

"We owe an institution?" she muttered, chewing on her cheese.

"And each other, yes."

She swallowed her mouthful, raised a brow. "…Each other?"

Jack tipped his head to one side. "Lemon, did you not just recently call me your work husband?"

"I did do that, that is true."

"Which could conceivably make you my work wife."

She took in a breath, looking thoughtful, looking trapped. "I suppose that…makes sense."

"My literal wife, at this very moment. Legally, you are my other half, my mate, my-"

She held up a hand. "Yeah, I get the point."

"And really, I think this is a very small ask in comparison to the fruitful juice of my loins."

Liz rolled her eyes and went for more cheese. "Yikes. That's going to be your go-to argument for everything now, isn't it? '_Change the sketch, Lemon, I gave you my seed.' 'Do as I say, Lemon. Pick up the check, Lemon. Wear a dress, Lemon. After all, I gave you some spluge in a cup_.'"

Jack took a small step closer. "I promise never to mention it again if you do this thing for me. For us."

She frowned, shaking her head dubiously. "I…I don't know, Jack. Seems very unnecessary to me. Not to mention weird."

"It's weird to want to kiss the bride? To want to just once experience the kiss of my own wife?"

"In this scenario, yes. _This_-" she waved a hand between them, "is not real, I'm not …what you said. And anyway, I'm pretty sure that's something that's done at the wedding, the whole kissing the bride thing, so."

"Well, I was busy kissing the woman I thought I married."

She tapped her nose with one finger. "Exactly, Jack, exactly."

"Also, circumstances have changed."

"How've they changed?"

"I didn't want to then," he replied, voice going husky. "I want to now."

"Right, I see, okay. But _why_?" she asked, eyes narrowed. "I'm still not real clear on the why part, Jack."

"Why, Lemon, why…" He took a breath and released it, wandering towards the windows a moment before turning back to face her. "Because five years ago, I stood on this exact same spot with you. I stood right here, looking at you, wanting to kiss you, wondering if you'd let me, imagining falling for you, knowing I was already falling for you, knowing I could. Knowing I could love again was a revelation, Lemon. You were a revelation in my life and for a short time, the only woman I wanted, the most incredible woman I'd ever known." He stopped, stepped closer, familiar eyes running over her familiar face. "And in that moment, I didn't want to take my eyes off you. Not for a second. I could barely keep my hands off you. But I did. For whatever reason, I did. And now-" He stalled again, unable to maintain eye contact. "Now, _we_ are married. Through some incongruous twist of fate, you and I have been conjoined in a mistake marriage that makes us both utterly laughable, makes everything we've been to each other an awful joke. So…before we do this, before we end this, Lemon, and never speak of it again, I feel…I _need_ this. _We_ need it. For…closure."

Liz blinked at him for a long moment, breath held. "Closure?"

Jack nodded. "Closure."

She grabbed some more cheese and nibbled on it, regarding him with a cautious gaze and furrowed brow. Finally, she took a breath. "So…one…one married-peoplekiss. _One_. And then…?"

"Then we are done," he finished with a definitive swipe of one hand. "Over."

"We divorce? We sign those babies. We forget any of it ever happened."

"We move on with our lives, Lemon. As friends."

"Friends."

"And nothing more."

"But friends who…kiss each other?"

"Friends who kissed once. Closing a chapter. For good." He waited, watching her face, then lent in. "You can't say you've never thought about it."

"Well, I can," Liz mumbled, eyes downcast.

"But it wouldn't be true. Would it?"

She looked up but didn't answer.

Jack cocked his head, raised his brows. "Would it, Lemon?"

Liz opened her mouth but didn't find words immediately. She gave an uneasy laugh then a shrug. "I dunno, I mean…I guess it really shouldn't be that big a deal. One tiny, little, meaningless kiss between buddies. Right?"

"Right," Jack agreed.

"Just to, sort of…yeah, mark the occasion. Or…whatever."

"Precisely. That's all this is."

"And, hey, if it's _that_ important to you-"

"I think it's for the best, for us both."

"Well then…" Her head bobbed a few times, though her face still looked uncertain. "Sure, alright, sure. I mean, I still think it's kinda weird-"

"I understand."

"But…I guess…I guess it couldn't hurt."

"No," Jack murmured, shifting in closer. "No, it won't hurt. One kiss…never hurt anyone."

"'Course not, no. So…?"

He gave her a small smile. "So."

Liz's eyes flitted over him warily as he placed his hands on her shoulders and drew her a little closer. The silence in the room stretched, outside noises penetrating the walls as they each waited for something to begin. Something that began a long time ago. Something they both thought ended a long time ago. Then Jack leaned in, tilting his head and putting his lips against hers, his touch light, testing, tentative. Liz sucked in some air, eyes closing on instinct. Her lips parted slightly, finding a better fit with his and when he began to kiss her, she kissed him back. It wasn't a hard kiss, it wasn't a hasty, passionate kiss. It was slow, it was sweet, it was strange. It tasted of loss and longing and regret. Yet, it tasted too of affection and mutual knowing and more than a little curiosity. It ebbed and flowed like a live force, it tingled and jolted like electricity. Or like a wild thing about to die that never got to truly live, that wanted to hang onto and savor the very last strains of its wonderful, heart-wrenching existence. It brought heat and revelation and a crashing chemistry flaring back to life, a chemistry that had been suppressed almost into oblivion.

Almost.

As Jack pressed a little closer, clasped a little tighter, delved just a little deeper, a tiny noise emanated from Liz's throat. One of pained pleasure. It was quickly followed by one of just pain, of resistance, of denial. Her hands raised in the space that still separated their bodies. They hovered, hesitating a fraction of a second before lifting to his hands on her shoulders and plying him free, pushing him back and away.

"Okay-!" she gasped, retreating swiftly, head bowed. "Okay, I…I think that's probably enough closure."

Her face pink and her chest heaving slightly, she rounded the coffee table to the couch and sat. She took a breath before pulling the divorce papers towards her and digging out a pen from the chaos there. Liz signed them with one swift, messy dash of her pen. Then she refolded them and held them up to him, meeting his gaze.

Jack took them slowly.

"I think you should probably go," she said after another silent, strained moment, her voice sounding hoarse and foreign. "I think…probably, it's good if you go now."

Jack nodded a few times then walked a little way to the door. But he stopped, turning towards her. "What happened to us, Lemon? I don't know what happened to us. I…can't seem to figure it out."

Liz rose from the couch, heading for the door. "I got old and you got mean," she muttered over her shoulder. "Isn't that what happens to all married couples eventually?" She opened the door wide, waiting for him to take the less than subtle hint. "Better luck with your next one."

Jack moved towards it, his footsteps slow, the papers clasped in his hands. He stopped opposite her, facing her on the threshold. He opened his mouth to speak. But Liz looked down and away, biting down hard on her lip, determinedly disengaged. Jack leant in, laid a soft kiss on her cheek. Then left.

_TBC..._


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Closure

Author: Mindy35

Rating: T, bad words, adult concepts

Disclaimer: Not mine, no money made.

Pairing(s): Jack/Avery, Jack/Liz

Spoilers: "Mrs Donaghy".

Summary: Jack gets closure on his relationship with Avery after divorcing Liz.

II.

Jack found Avery in his study, at his desk, sipping a glass of his most prized port. He crossed the floor and lay the divorce papers on the desktop in front of her with a proud smile.

She didn't look up. But her brows lifted as she took a look at them. "Wow...So you actually did it."

"I told you I would," he replied, rocking on his heels. "I told you I'd fix this."

"I'm impressed…" she muttered, her voice lagging from drink. "You actually divorced the woman you love for the woman you accidentally got pregnant. Nice, Jack, very cut-throat."

He gave a baffled laugh. "What? What're you talking about? You are the woman I love. I did this for you, so that we could marry."

Avery sat back in his chair, meeting his gaze with casual disdain. "You don't love me, Jack. You love to fuck me. You love to play mind games with me. You love how my name sounds coming out of your mouth. You love how I fill out a dress, how I look on your arm. You love the impressed looks on people's faces when we are seen together." She opened a drawer, grabbed a magazine from inside and flung it onto the desktop. "You love that we made _Bulb's List of Top Ten Power Couples of 2010." _

"And 2011," Jack murmured. "Decision pending."

"And that's fine," she went on, giving a careless shrug. "I'm fine with that, Jack. Because that's exactly what I love about you too. What you do for me. How we look together. That what we have doesn't go too deep. We are two shallow, ruthless, ambitious people. And we could have a perfectly successful union if you didn't feel the abnormal need to romanticize everything, make this into something it's not."

Jack shook his head. "That's not what I do. That's not what this is."

"Sure it is. You've been doing it from the very beginning." She took a long sip of her drink, beginning to rock back and forth in the plush leather chair. "I dunno, maybe it has something to do with the whole Catholic guilt thing. You know? In order to justify fucking me, and loving to fuck me, let's face it, you had to make like you were in love with me. Then, in order to feel absolved from getting me pregnant out of wedlock, and _gasp-_!" she put a hand over her mouth, eyes wide with mockery, "what would dear old Mommy think of _that..._? - you decide to marry me. Despite all the laws of common sense that go against it." She swung the chair to one side and got to her feet, one hand supporting her belly. "Meanwhile," she went on, rounding the desk towards him, "the woman you actually have real feelings for, you verbally belittle on a daily basis. The woman you love, you won't even allow yourself to touch. What is that about, Jack? Huh? More dormant Catholic guilt? You love her too much to inflict yourself on her physically? You respect her too much to expose your real desire to her? Is that it? Is sweet, old Liz your Madonna, Jackie? And what exactly does that make me?"

Jack drew in a breath. "You're drunk, Avery."

"I'm also right," she humphed. Coming to stop in front of him, she let one hand skate up his chest as she continued on, voice insidiously silky. "I'll just bet you hate the woman for getting under your skin like that too, am I right? Making you feel things you shouldn't, for someone you don't want to? S'that the reason for the incessant insults, Jack? Safer to keep her at a distance, huh? Safer not to let her love you, not to let her know what you really want?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he muttered, spine stiff. "I don't feel that way about Lemon. I don't…_want_ her."

Avery scoffed in his face. "Jeez! Come on, Jack! You can barely even say the word and her name in the same sentence."

"I don't _want_ Lemon," he insisted, frowning. "I don't desire…Liz. Not in any way."

"Oh please." She turned on her heel, heading for the drinks tray. "You're so screwed up, you don't even know what you want."

"I want you," he said, eyes trailing her. "I love you."

"You don't know how to love, Jack. That's the truth. That's why you picked me. Because neither of us do." She turned to face him, cradling her drink on top of her baby bump. "At least I'm man enough to admit that. At least I have guts enough to live without it." She took a sip, a creeping smile on her face. "Not you though, Jack. You need love, you _crave_ it. And yet…you just signed away your last chance at it. And for what? For _us_?"

"Yes," he nodded. "For us."

Avery looked like she was about to laugh, her eyes twinkling with incredulous delight. "_Why_? We're a game, that's all. A fun game, a sexy game, a mutually beneficial game - don't get me wrong. But just a game. Nothing more. Not love. Not-" she waved her glass at him sloppily, "Not anything like you already had with your precious little Lemon person."

"You're wrong," he said, moving towards her, taking her hands in his. "What I had with Lemon was…it was child's play. We're the real thing. You're the one. I've never felt for Liz or anyone even half of what I feel for you."

"Oh no?" She peered up at him, lifting her glass to her lips.

"Of course not," he told her, eyes on hers.

Avery was silent, holding his gaze. Then she asked: "So what happened at her apartment tonight?"

Jack drew back slightly.

"That is where you've just come from, isn't it, Jack?"

He stepped round her, began to pour himself a drink. "You shouldn't be drinking this stuff. You shouldn't be drinking at all."

"I'll take that as a yes," she muttered, moving back to the desk.

"Avery-"

"So what happened? What happened when you two signed your lives away?"

"Nothing happened," he mumbled, taking a large sip of scotch.

"Don't lie to me, Jack. I was an investigative reporter for five years, I can smell a scoop a mile off." She lowered herself back into his chair, licking her lips in relish. "So dish. Come on, don't be shy. Tell the lady you like to fuck about the lady you just can't live without."

Jack turned to her, ran his gaze over the length of her before letting his eyes drop to the carpet. "I…I kissed Liz. We…kissed each other. That is all."

"How sweet," she mused. "And…?"

He downed the rest of his drink then dropped the glass back to the tray with a loud crash. "_And_ what? And nothing."

"No, I mean…" She wiggled up straighter in her seat, face lit with sadistic expectation. "How was it? Huh? After all these years. And please, don't spare any detail."

"Avery."

"Also, may I remind you before you answer that you've already cheated on me once in this relatively short relationship – a relationship that is about to end, by the way. To not be forthcoming now would be very bad form, though hardly a huge surprise."

Jack was silent a long moment. Finally, he spread his hands and revealed in a slow, low voice, "Honestly? It was…incredible. Intense. The most-…I've never felt anything like it in my whole life."

Avery nodded slowly. "And yet…-" She picked up the papers on the desk, showing him the two signatures, side by side, that severed his alliance with Liz. She rose, tearing the papers to pieces as she stalked towards him. When she reached him, she shoved them against his chest, telling him, "You're an idiot, Jack. And I deserve better than an idiot. This baby deserves better than to have a fool and a coward for a father." Then she headed for the door.

"Avery, please. Don't do something we both might regret."

"I think it's too late for that." She turned on the threshold to face him. "If you think I'm going to be the third Mrs Donaghy, if you think I'm going to stick around to be publically humiliated by this, if you think I'm still planning to marry you after this pathetically transparent mess, then you are as bonkers as your weird little friend. Still-" she grabbed her coat from a nearby chair and slung it over herself, "a week or two and I'll be over it. But you'll have to live the rest of your life with the knowledge that you found the love you so desperately wanted…and threw it away. And all for a color picture on page three of _Cigar Aficionado_."

"I'm not the one throwing this away, Avery," Jack answered, voice rising with desperation. "I'm trying to _save_ it."

She sent him a pitying look. "I wasn't talking about us." Then she walked away, adding: "See you in the press, Jack."

Jack unclenched his fists, letting the remnants of two shattered relationships fall at his feet.

_END. _


End file.
